A Healthy Gut: Probiotic vs. Prebiotic

Our gut, brain and skin all lie on the same axis and all work together. Some doctors even call our gut our second brain! So if our gut is unhealthy, we might experience symptoms like crappy immunity, allergies, depression, chronic fatigue, bloating and gas. Not fun.

So, how do we get an unhealthy gut?

Antibiotics and medications (birth control and NSAIDS)

Diets high in refined carbs, sugar and processed foods

Diets low in fermentable fibres

Dietary toxins (wheat, industrial seed oils)

Chronic stress

Chronic infections

Ending up with an unhealthy gut is simply the result of the daily grind and is pretty much inevitable. But luckily, there are things you can do to improve your gut health.

One way to mend our gut health is through probiotics and prebiotics.

PRObiotics.

Basically our gut contains hundreds of different microorganisms that we need to for optimal health. A probiotic contains these live microorganisms that live in our gut and make things wonderful.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I am a huge believer in the importance of a daily probiotic supplement. When I started taking a daily probiotic supplement, I noticed a huge difference in my overall health. I had better digestion, better focus, less fatigue and improved immunity. Currently in my fridge I have a bottle of Natural Factors Ultimate Probiotic and I also like Udo’s Choice Natural Flora.

If you aren’t into taking a daily probiotic supplement, no problem. Their are plenty of foods you can get probiotics through such as:

Yogurt

Soft Cheeses

Kefir

Sourdough Bread

Sauerkraut

Miso

Tempeh

Pickles

You might notice a trend. A lot of these foods are fermented. Without going into too much detail, fermented foods are great because as they ferment, their sugars and carbs become “bacteria-boosting” agents.

But, wait! There’s more!

PREbiotics

PREbiotics are basically the precursor to probiotics. Prebiotics give us the goodness we need to grow probiotics. There are a ton of foods that contain prebiotics to help us improve our gut health.

Raw Garlic

Raw Leek

Raw Onion

Raw Banana

Asparagus

Artichoke

Tomatoes

Chicory and Dandelion Root

Gut health is king and affects your entire body. Try to increase your intake of these pro and prebiotic containing foods and you will probably notice a huge difference in your overall health.